Fashinza, the AI-driven B2B marketplace and real-time global supply chain platform for fashion brands and retailers, has announced a Series B funding round totalling $100 million (AED367 million) to invest in sustainable supply chain. 

 

The round is led by Prosus Ventures (formerly known as Naspers Ventures) and Westbridge along with participation from existing investors Accel, Elevation and DisruptAD. 

 

The round also saw participation from angel investors Naval Ravikant, Jeff Fagnan, Jake Zeller, Nivi, and Nitesh Banta. The round includes a mix of equity and debt financing.

 

Expanding globally

Fashinza is using the new funds to invest in supply chain technology and expand the company’s presence globally. This includes monetising fintech offerings, expanding into raw material procurement, and creating a sustainable (i.e., net positive) supply chain by 2030 and Industry 4.0 solutions for SMB manufacturers.

 

Abhishek Sharma, COO, and Co-founder of Fashinza said: “Our mission is to create a sustainable, futuristic, and agile fashion supply chain using technology while improving the ethics and sustainability in the supply chain. We are now also using the massive data we generate to solve financial challenges for our customers and suppliers with our fintech products.”

 

In the past 12 months, Fashinza grew the business over tenfold. The company also reduced minimum order quantities to as low as 50 and reduced design to delivery TATs by 50% in a single year. 

 

Tech-based solutions

Pawan Gupta, CEO, and Co-founder of Fashinza said: “We are excited to expand our global presence and offer fast and sustainable tech-based supply chain solutions - especially to our customers in North America. Our goal to help our partner brands and manufacturers to work and thrive with an agile supply chain that benefits all is now a reality and already positively impacting our customers’ lives.”

 

Fashinza's technology is reducing wastage across the entire production process and bringing social transparency into the supply chain. Additionally, Fashinza aims to scale its environment-friendly practices and materials to make costs comparable to their unsustainable counterparts. 

 

Ashutosh Sharma, Head of Investments for India, Prosus Ventures said: “The issues of the fashion industry supply chain have faced some unique challenges in the past few years that have also made the sector ripe for disruption. The Fashinza team has responded with agility, evolving to offer tech-based solutions beyond the traditional channels. We are confident about the team’s capability as they look to scale further and are delighted to partner with their mission.” 

 

To the next level

Sandeep Singhal, Managing Director, Westbridge Capital said: “We believe the company has the potential to revolutionise the fashion industry supply chain using technology and we are excited to help take the company to the next level.” 

 

In addition to solving complex supply chain issues, Fashinza’s flexible and transparent marketplace model also includes logistics, fintech, and payment support. 

 

The company has a roster of over 250 manufacturers that currently serves 200+ brands across 6 countries, including the US, Canada, UAE, and India.-- TradeArabia News Service